Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) Director Acquires $37,203.25 in Stock

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ:NTRS) Director Robert Edward Jr. Moritz purchased 245 shares of Northern Trust stock in a transaction that occurred on Monday, February 2nd. The shares were acquired at an average price of $151.85 per share, with a total value of $37,203.25. Following the acquisition, the director directly owned 6,931 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $1,052,472.35. This trade represents a 3.66% increase in their position. The purchase was disclosed in a legal filing with the SEC, which is accessible through the SEC website.

Northern Trust Stock Performance

Shares of NTRS stock traded down $1.78 during midday trading on Tuesday, hitting $149.84. 1,146,989 shares of the company were exchanged, compared to its average volume of 1,056,677. The firm’s 50 day moving average price is $140.80 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $132.94. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.57, a quick ratio of 0.70 and a current ratio of 0.69. The firm has a market capitalization of $28.34 billion, a P/E ratio of 17.14, a PEG ratio of 1.21 and a beta of 1.27. Northern Trust Corporation has a 52 week low of $81.62 and a 52 week high of $157.60.

Northern Trust (NASDAQ:NTRS) last posted its earnings results on Friday, January 30th. The asset manager reported $2.42 earnings per share for the quarter, topping analysts’ consensus estimates of $2.37 by $0.05. Northern Trust had a return on equity of 14.87% and a net margin of 12.15%.The company had revenue of $3.15 billion during the quarter. During the same period in the prior year, the business posted $2.26 EPS. The firm’s quarterly revenue was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. As a group, equities research analysts anticipate that Northern Trust Corporation will post 8.27 earnings per share for the current year.

Northern Trust Announces Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Wednesday, April 1st. Investors of record on Friday, March 6th will be given a $0.80 dividend. The ex-dividend date is Friday, March 6th. This represents a $3.20 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 2.1%. Northern Trust’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is presently 36.61%.

Wall Street Analyst Weigh In

Several analysts recently weighed in on NTRS shares. Zacks Research raised Northern Trust from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Wall Street Zen raised Northern Trust from a “sell” rating to a “hold” rating in a research note on Saturday, December 27th. Citigroup boosted their target price on shares of Northern Trust from $143.00 to $162.00 and gave the company a “neutral” rating in a report on Tuesday, January 27th. Wells Fargo & Company boosted their price target on Northern Trust from $145.00 to $150.00 and gave the company an “equal weight” rating in a research note on Friday, January 23rd. Finally, Truist Financial set a $148.00 price objective on shares of Northern Trust in a research note on Wednesday, January 7th. One investment analyst has rated the stock with a Strong Buy rating, four have given a Buy rating, seven have assigned a Hold rating and three have given a Sell rating to the company’s stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, Northern Trust presently has a consensus rating of “Hold” and an average price target of $148.75.

Institutional Trading of Northern Trust

A number of hedge funds and other institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in NTRS. Triumph Capital Management bought a new stake in Northern Trust during the third quarter worth $25,000. FNY Investment Advisers LLC purchased a new stake in Northern Trust in the 2nd quarter valued at about $25,000. Board of the Pension Protection Fund bought a new position in shares of Northern Trust in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $27,000. AlphaCore Capital LLC lifted its holdings in Northern Trust by 87.4% during the second quarter. AlphaCore Capital LLC now owns 208 shares of the asset manager’s stock worth $27,000 after acquiring an additional 97 shares during the period. Finally, Hantz Financial Services Inc. increased its position in shares of Northern Trust by 5,225.0% during the 2nd quarter. Hantz Financial Services Inc. now owns 213 shares of the asset manager’s stock valued at $27,000 after purchasing an additional 209 shares during the last quarter. 83.19% of the stock is owned by institutional investors.

About Northern Trust

Northern Trust Corporation (NASDAQ: NTRS) is a global financial services firm headquartered in Chicago that provides asset servicing, asset management and wealth management solutions to institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals. The company’s core businesses include custody and fund administration, investment operations outsourcing, trust and fiduciary services, private banking, and retirement and defined contribution plan services.

Northern Trust’s product and service offerings span custody and fund accounting, portfolio and performance analytics, securities lending, cash management and foreign exchange, as well as discretionary and non-discretionary investment management.